End of a Paddling Era

Yesterday, DW and I said so long to an era.

For five seasons, our kayaks were a means of escape. During the pandemic, it was a way to enjoy the outdoors whist maintaining social distancing. Later, it was a way to get out of the city and into nature.

And though DW and I haven't used our old kayaks since we replaced them with longer boats, our old kayaks had a special place in our hearts.

My red Delta 12.10 kayak sold two weeks ago, after having been on the market for couple a of weeks. I had lots of views but no offers for more than a week, and then a couple of curious people who were looking to acquire the boat for less than it was worth reached out, but we couldn't come to an agreement. But finally, someone with a love of kayaks, who already had a Delta 12.10 for his wife, made a reasonable offer.

Paddling the Long Sault.

I couldn't help but get a bit choked up as I saw my kayak drive away on somebody else's car.

I modified my Kijiji ad but shortly after deleted it, opting to make a new ad for DW's kayak. Hers was a saffron-yellow Delta 12S and though it was 10 inches shorter than mine, it had fewer scratches on the hull.

For two weeks, there wasn't a single nibble on the ad and I even considered dropping the price, though I knew that we were asking a reasonable amount. Deltas are great crafts that hold their value.

Two nights ago, someone made an offer that was $200 less than our asking price. I checked out his profile and learned that he was selling a 14-foot Necky kayak. And through our chat, I learned that he was retired, making me guess that he was at least my age.

A Necky 14' kayak weighs 51 pounds; DW's Delta 12S: 38 pounds.

I surmised that he was looking for something that was lighter, that he was a serious kayaker who wanted to downsize. I offered to take $100 off the price of DW's kayak and he accepted. The next morning (yesterday), he picked it up.

I was right in thinking that this buyer was looking for a lighter kayak. He was about five or so years older than me and he agreed that his Necky was now too heavy to lift on his roof rack by himself. When he saw me lift the Delta, one-handed, he was convinced he was making the right purchase.

Even though it wasn't my kayak, I felt a small sense of loss when the man drove away with DW's boat on his car. We had so many great memories with those kayaks and I'm glad that I captured some of those memories in my YouTube videos.

Making memories on the Mississippi River.

We've been out together in our new Delta 14 kayaks seven times and I've shared all but one outing on my YouTube channel (I also have one video where I paddled alone). I'm confident that we'll have many great memories over the next few years.

It's the end of one paddling era. We've only just begun the next era.